Ahead of Saturday’s presidential election, Senate Chief Whip Orji Kalu has ruled out an Igbo Presidency, saying Nigerians are not ready for one.
Speaking Wednesday on the 2023 general elections during a Channels Television programme, ‘The Verdict’, the former Abia state governor said Saturday’s presidential election would not be the best outing for the Igbo people despite having one of the popular candidates, Peter Obi of the Labour Party, as their son.
The APC lawmaker representing Abia North senatorial district said the region would need to amass bulk votes from five other regions out of the remaining to be victorious.
There are a number of contestants of Igbo extractions among the 18 presidential candidates for this year’s election.
Dismissing the chances of Obi emerging victorious in the polls, Kalu said: “I’m well-experienced; I ran for President in 2007 and I’m not sure Nigerians are yet ready for a President of Igbo extraction.
“I’m not sure because I have tried to nose around that. We have five other regions to come up with and I am not sure.
“The people of the South-East are the best professionals but not the best politicians.
“We do politics with emotions and I want Igbos to stop doing politics with emotions; I want Igbos to do practical politics,” he added.
On G5 governors
Speaking on the candidate adopted by the five aggrieved Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governors popularly known as G5, Kalu said they were silently working for the victory of the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
However, Governor Nyesom Wike (Rivers), Seyi Makinde (Oyo), Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia), and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu) have not openly declared their support for any presidential candidate despite welcoming the candidates who come into their state for campaigns.
Blueprint, however, reported that Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue state had hinted his interest to work with the Labour Party candidate, Peter (Obi), endorsed by former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
On this, Kalu said: “The G5 came together and they are working together and I don’t even believe the governor of Benue State, possibly, he just wants to use that (endorsement) to win an election because the G5, from inside sources, have made up their minds that they are not going to work for any other person than Senator Ahmed Bola Tinubu, the presidential candidate of the APC,” the lawmaker maintained.
He further expressed confidence that Tinubu would win with a landslide victory in Abia state and the Igbo-dominated zone.
Atiku as ‘preferred choice’
Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has listed economic downturn, insecurity and the skyrocketing price of commodities among others as reasons Nigerians would not vote the APC and its presidential candidate.
PDP said unlike Tinubu, its candidate, Atiku, has continued to demonstrate that he is a Pan-Nigeria leader with the required experience, capacity, integrity, stamina, presence of mind, commitment, sense of duty, and readiness to lead the nation at this critical time.
PDP National Publicity Secretary Hon. Debo Ologunagba, who stated this Wednesday while addressing a press conference in Abuja, said the APC and its presidential candidate were incapable and have nothing to offer Nigerians.
“While Atiku Abubakar continues to engage Nigerians on issues that are critical to our nation; including National Unity and Stability, Security, Restructuring, Infrastructural Development, empowerment of the people through diversification, Asiwaju Tinubu abdicated because he has no solution to the myriads of problems brought upon our nation by the APC which he admitted to have brought into the office,” he added.
The PDP publicity scribe also said Tinubu cannot point to any development project or programme he initiated and executed in his eight years as governor of Lagos state.
He stated: “When that failed, the Tinubu/Shettima Campaign came up with the promise to continue on the legacies of the Buhari-led APC administration. When they realized that such was a serious pitfall given the massive failure of the administration where Asiwaju Tinubu holds sway as a leader, they resorted to a desperate attempt to dissociate Asiwaju Tinubu from the APC administration.
“However, Nigerians cannot be fooled as they can clearly remember the deep involvement of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the current APC government wherein he publicly boasted that he single-handedly installed the Buhari administration.
“This Presidential election is about the issues that affect Nigerians daily and a simple comparison of statistics from 1999 to 2015 under the PDP and from 2015 to 2023 under the APC shows that the lives of Nigerians have been massively discounted as evidenced by the facts below.
“The PDP handed over a $550 billion economy (largest in Africa and 26th globally) to the APC in 2015. Today Tinubu’s APC has ruined the economy and turned our nation into the poverty capital of the world where over 100 million Nigerians can no longer afford their daily meals.
“This is compounded by a debt accumulation by the APC government from N12 trillion in 2015 to a staggering N44.06 trillion today; inflation rate rising from 9% in 2015 to over 22% in 2023 and an exchange rate of about N197 to a dollar under the PDP to over N750 to a dollar today with a consequential negative effect on Small and Medium Scale Enterprises which were forced to close down resulting in massive unemployment from about 8% in 2015 to 37% in 2023.
“The life discounting experiences were worsened by the harsh economic policies of APC which saw the pump price of fuel rising from N87 per liter under the PDP to about N400 to N500 per liter in various parts of the country today.
“Today, under the APC, a bag of rice which sold at N7,500 in 2015 under the PDP now sells for almost N50,000; a measure of garri which sold at N100 in 2015 now sells for over N450 while a measure of beans which sold at N250 in 2015 now sells for over N1000 under the APC. The list is endless.
“Under the APC, Nigeria became the second most corrupt country in West Africa and 154 out of 180 in the Global Corruption Index with APC leaders allegedly stealing over N15 trillion oil revenue meant for infrastructural development in the country.”
Obi ahead – Supporters
Similarly, the Peter Obi Support Network (POSN) insisted Wednesday that the Labour Party flag bearer is the candidate to beat.
The group, at a world press conference in Abuja, alleged that the ruling APC and the main opposition party, PDP were already jittery of the imminent defeats awaiting their candidates.
Addressing journalists, POSN Co-Convener Mazi Tochukwu Ezeoke said at the moment, “Nigeria is in intensive care unit, waiting for the person with capacity, competence and character to rescue her.”
He said, “All indices from polls surveys made so far and realities on ground for a New Nigeria, clearly show that Peter Obi will win the Saturday Presidential election at first ballot.
“Today we are alarmed to hear the leadership of the ruling party attacking President Muhammadu Buhari for the recently promulgated federal government policies.
“We are also alarmed to find the official spokesman of Bola Tinubu, the APC presidential candidate, openly threatening a coup d’état.
“The PDP today is also riddled with crisis; all these developments make us wonder whether these two parties that have brought the country to its knees will allow a free and fair election and whether they will accept the result of the presidential election when they suffered election defeat this weekend.
“Faced with certain electoral defeat, the APC and the PDP have resorted to propaganda, political bribery and spreading fake news and unfounded information against the Labour Party to help their demoralized supporters.
“It is now obvious that Labour Party is the party to beat and so their masters have seen the truth and are tactically submitting.
“Atiku in his broadcast is now saying that people should go out and vote peacefully even if they don’t want to vote for him. That is better.
“Meanwhile, the Agbado master and his old naira notes delusional governors are now crying for the election to be postponed because defeat is staring them in the face.
“These failed politicians have failed to read the signs of times, that a new generation of Nigerians hewed in the blood of innocent Nigerians over the years have risen to take back their country and they will not stop until the day a new Nigeria is born; the 2023 elections are just the beginning.
“The desperate wicked looters of our commonwealth are no longer saying that the Labour Party has no structure because the Peter Obi Support Network [POSN] and other support groups have created a miraculous network of Peter Obi supporters in a every nook and cranny of Nigeria,” Ezeoke said.
Also speaking, the Oyo state coordinator of the group , Sir Olatunde Okelana, said the largest percentage of Nigerian youth who constitute 40% of the registered voters were rooting for Peter Obi for the New Nigeria of their dream.
He said the 176, 874 polling units across the country would be closely monitored by assigned ‘Obidients.’
Accept election outcome – Buhari
And from President Muhammadu Buhari came an admonition to all the candidates to accept the people’s choice as announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The president, who witnessed the signing of the Second Peace Accord for the 2023 presidential election at the International Conference Centre, Abuja, reminded the political class and their supporters that INEC is the agency empowered by law to announce the results.
”Any aggrieved candidate should resort to the established judicial processes, and we must have the confidence to trust our legal systems.
”I once again ask the candidates to abide by the spirit and letter of the Accord they have signed today.
”Let me remind all Nigerians not for the first time that this is the only country we have, and we must do everything to keep it safe, united and peaceful.
”There should be no riots or acts of violence after the announcement of the election results. All grievances, personal or institutional, should be channeled to the relevant courts,” he said.
The president acknowledged that deep concerns were raised about the conduct of the 2023 general elections and the outcomes they may throw up.
He, however, assured Nigerians that his administration would continue to do the utmost to deliver a free and fair election.
”Since my assumption of office, we have worked so hard to ensure that we pass on a legacy of free, fair, credible, safe, and peaceful elections.
”We will continue to act with neutrality and allow the rule of law to take precedence over political expediency.
”We have demonstrated that with the off-circle elections in Edo, Ondo, Anambra, Ekiti and Osun States. We allowed Nigerians to decide who should govern them. We are committed to that legacy in this administration,” he said.
The president assured INEC, security agencies and all relevant institutions saddled with responsibility of conducting the elections, of his administration’s continuous support.
He asked them to be firm and courageous, abiding by the laws and constitutional provisions in conducting the elections.
”We must constantly improve our electoral process using technology and all the positive elements it brings to consolidate the integrity of the elections,” he said.
He thanked the chairman and members of the National Peace Committee, led by General Abdulsalami Abubakar, for their commitment and sacrifices to support peaceful elections in Nigeria.
He recalled that in September 2022, the chairman had respectfully asked him to deliver a goodwill message in support of issue-based and peaceful campaigns and political rallies devoid of insults and personal attacks.
”I readily agreed because this is my personal belief and conviction; that we need to dwell more on issues that are fundamental to Nigerians.
”Despite having no financial support from the government, the Peace Committee has remained steadfast, working with relevant agencies to provide moral compass and serve as an independent agency for alternative dispute resolution on the electoral process.
”I commend the committee’s commitment and loyalty not only to the electoral process but to peace generally in Nigeria,” President Buhari said, adding that the ”committee has made a name for itself, at home and abroad,” he said.
